SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State football head coach Bobby Petrino tweeted the results of his team’s 2021 captain voting late Thursday with offensive standouts Landon Bebee and Damoriea Vick sharing the honors with defensive leaders Titus Wall and Kevin Ellis.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way,” Petrino said in his announcement.
Bebee, a junior offensive lineman from Webb City, Mo., was named to the All-MVFC second team as a sophomore and was recognized last week on the Preseason All-MVFC Team. He started the final eight games of the 2020-21 season, seven of which came at guard. During the Bears 2021 spring playoff run, Bebee allowed just one sack and six pressures in 401 snaps against conference opponents.
Vick, a senior wide receiver from Oklahoma City, was named All-MVFC honorable mention as a junior in 2020-21 after compiling team-highs 45 receptions for 596 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was also a co-captain for the NCAA Playoff squad last season and ranked 12th nationally and second in the MVFC in total receiving yards. In Valley games, he posted the third-best receiving yards per game average (74.8) and sixth-best receptions per game (5.2) numbers in the league.
Wall, a fifth-year senior safety from Plano, Texas also returns for a second stint as MSU captain. He ranked second on the 2020-21 squad in total tackles (53) in his first senior season, including 37 solo tackles. Wall forced a fumble and had a QB hurry in the team’s first NCAA FCS Playoff game in 30 years, at North Dakota last April and registered nine tackles twice, including nine stops in the season opener at No. 6 Oklahoma.
Ellis, a defensive end from Fort Worth, Texas, earned All-MVC second team distinction in 2020-21 after posting a team-best 8.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks during his junior season. The fifth-year senior was also a 2021 Preseason All-MVFC pick last week. During the memorable spring campaign, he was named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after forcing a fumble, recording a 30-yard interception return, and collecting a pair of sacks with six total tackles in the Bears MVFC opening win at Western Illinois. Ellis was also a Bears co-captain last season.
The Bears held their first practice of the 2021 season early Friday at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. Petrino returns 18 total starters from the MVFC co-championship team this spring and has 95 players in camp for the onset of the new campaign.
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